Michael Bruce (born 22 November 1983)[1][2] is a Scottish composer and lyricist working in theatre, television and film. He was composer-in-residence at the Donmar Warehouse theatre during Josie Rourke's artistic directorship there from 2012 to 2019.
Michael Bruce | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 November 1983 Scotland |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instrument(s) | Piano |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Website | michaelbrucecomposer.com |
His theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing (2011) with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, Coriolanus (2013) with Tom Hiddleston, Twelfth Night (2017) with Tamsin Greig and Antony & Cleopatra (2018) with Ralph Fiennes, as well as the 2021 made-for-TV Romeo & Juliet with Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley. In 2022, he wrote original songs for the Netflix mockumentary Hard Cell.
Early life and education edit
Bruce grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland[3] and first took to the stage in Scottish Ballet's production of The Nutcracker, going on to become Highland Dancing Champion.[4][5] Done with dancing, he took up table tennis in his teens, playing for the Scotland national team throughout Europe.[5][6] He then studied as a singer/songwriter at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.[5][7][8]
Career edit
Early in his career, he worked as a musical director at the Battersea Arts Centre, the Theatre Royal Lincoln and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe,[9] and also assisted on several national tours, cruise ships and pantomimes.[6] In 2007, he won the Notes for The Stage competition run by the Notes from New York concert series and The Stage newspaper, which led to a concert of his musical theatre work being staged at the Apollo Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue.[3][5][9][10]
He soon got his break as the first composer-in-residence at the Bush Theatre, when its artistic director was Josie Rourke.[11] From 2012 to 2019, he held the same position at the Donmar Warehouse, after Rourke was appointed there as Michael Grandage's successor. He wrote scores for many plays at the Donmar, including Coriolanus (2013) with Tom Hiddleston,[12] Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2016) with Dominic West and Janet McTeer[13] and Saint Joan (2016) with Gemma Arterton,[14] all three shown in cinemas across the UK and internationally as part of the National Theatre Live programme, as well as BAFTA-nominated The Vote (2015) with Judi Dench, broadcast live on More4 on general election night.[15]
His other theatre credits include Sonia Friedman's Much Ado About Nothing (2011) with David Tennant and Catherine Tate at the Wyndham's Theatre, Candide (2013), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (2014) and Timon of Athens (2018) for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Noises Off (2012) and Other Desert Cities (2014) at the Old Vic, Privacy (2016) at the Public Theater in New York and The Winslow Boy (2013) on Broadway.
Bruce has also worked on many productions at the National Theatre, including Man and Superman (2015) and Antony & Cleopatra (2018), both starring Ralph Fiennes, The Beaux' Stratagem (2015) with Samuel Barnett, Twelfth Night (2017) with Tamsin Greig and Hansard (2019) with Lindsay Duncan, all of which became parts of the National Theatre Live collection.
In 2011, he released his debut musical theatre album, Unwritten Songs, which entered the iTunes vocal chart at No. 1.[16][17] He has also written a book called Writing Music for the Stage: A Practical Guide for Theatremakers, which was published by Nick Hern Books in 2016 with a foreword by Josie Rourke.[18] Mark Gatiss called it "a must-read for all those with an interest in how music works on stage", while Judi Dench commented, "A good score makes a world of difference to an actor. Read Michael Bruce's book and you'll understand why. He is a genius."[10]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he wrote the soundtrack for the National Theatre's critically acclaimed first made-solely-for-TV production of Romeo & Juliet (2021), filmed in 17 days in an empty theatre with Josh O'Connor, Jessie Buckley and Tamsin Greig.[19][20][21] It premiered on Sky Arts in the UK and PBS in the USA. He also recently wrote original songs for the Netflix mockumentary sitcom Hard Cell (2022) and the original score for The Nan Movie (2022), both starring and written by Catherine Tate.
Composing credits edit
Film and television edit
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 10 O'Clock Live | Episode #3.1 |
| 2021 | Romeo & Juliet | National Theatre's first made-for-TV production starring Josh O'Connor and Jessie Buckley |
| 2022 | The Nan Movie | |
| Hard Cell | 6 episodes; original songs | |
| Great Performances | Episode: "Keeping Company with Sondheim" |
Theatre productions edit
Accolades edit
Awards edit
- 2007: Notes for The Stage competition run by Notes from New York and The Stage[9]
- 2009: MTM Awards – Most Promising New Musical for Ed: The Musical[22]
Nominations edit
- 2009: MTM Awards – Best Lyrics for a New Musical for Ed: The Musical[22]
- 2009: MTM Awards – Best Music for a New Musical for Ed: The Musical[22]
- 2013: WhatsOnStage Awards – Best Original Music for The Recruiting Officer[23]
- 2021: Online Film & Television Association TV Awards – Best Music Composition in A Motion Picture, Limited, or Anthology for Romeo & Juliet[24]
Publications edit
- Writing Music for the Stage: A Practical Guide for Theatremakers (2016), with a foreword by Josie Rourke: ISBN 9781848423930
- "Why every composer gains by writing music for plays", an article published in The Stage on 23 June 2016
- "How I wrote the music for Privacy", an article published on WhatsOnStage.com on 19 July 2016
References edit
- ^ Bruce, Michael (2011-11-23). "Thanks for all the birthday wishes. Feeling loved :-) x". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Sproull, Karen (2013-11-23). "Happy 30th birthday @MBruce83". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ a b Amer, Matthew (2009-10-19). "Introducing… Michael Bruce". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "All-Star Concerts of Michael Bruce & Lance Horne | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ a b c d Bosanquet, Theo (2009-07-30). "Galas: Full Broadway Line-up, Concert for Bruce | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ a b Dunn, Carrie. "MICHAEL BRUCE: A LITTLE LESS ORDINARY To Showcase At The Apollo Theatre". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "About". Michael Bruce. 2015-08-09. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "Michael Bruce". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ a b c Baluch, Lalayn (2007-12-06). "Bruce wins Notes for The Stage musical theatre prize". British Newspaper Archive. The Stage. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
Bruce's previous writing credits include work for the Battersea Arts Centre and Greenwich Theatre. He is currently working on the forthcoming UK tour of Hello Dolly and is musical director for this year's pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Lincoln.
- ^ a b "Writing Music for the Stage". Nick Hern Books. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "Michael Bruce: Why every composer gains by writing music for plays". The Stage. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "CORIOLANUS". Donmar Warehouse. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES". Donmar Warehouse. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "SAINT JOAN". Donmar Warehouse. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "Judi Dench and the anarchists: why British theatre has gone election mad". the Guardian. 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Gari (2011-03-21). "REVIEW: Michael Bruce – Unwritten Songs". Gari Wellingham. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Unwritten Songs, retrieved 2022-09-28
- ^ Bruce, Michael (2016). Writing music for the stage : a practical guide for theatremakers. Josie Rourke. London. ISBN 978-1-84842-393-0. OCLC 918924932.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Romeo and Juliet review – National Theatre's first film is an ingenious triumph". the Guardian. 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "Romeo & Juliet review – Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor are outstanding". the Guardian. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ Davis, Clive. "Romeo and Juliet review — Jessie Buckley and Josh O'Connor create chemistry". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ a b c "Ed Wins Two Edinburgh Fringe Musical Awards | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "Full list: Winners announced of the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
- ^ "25th Annual TV Awards (2020-21) - Online Film & Television Association". Retrieved 2022-09-28.